A photo a day of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills & Palos Verdes Estates, located on the hills of PV peninsula at the southwestern tip of Los Angeles county

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Burnt Hillside above Portuguese Bend

People came to look at the burned area of Forrestal Nature Preserve this afternoon from Del Cerro Park. Last April, I posted this photo from Eagle's Nest which is in the middle of the burned area in the second photo."In 'Los Angeles Against the Mountains,' a 1988 installment in the New Yorker series “The Control of Nature,” which was later published as a book, John McPhee described how Southern California’s dry chaparral produces devastating fires." New Yorker-Archive 1988/09/26. Knowing that the fires are part of the natural process does not make them any less frightening.

8 comments:

The thing that struck me about this shot more than the power of the fire was the stance of the people. Look how close together the couples and little group are standing - it's as if they're drawing comfort from each other in the face of the devastation.

I had a look at the map of the fire in the LA Times, and have been thinking with concern about the lovely families we met when we did a house exchange with a family from La Canada a few years ago.

We drove down to Portuguese Bend Thursday night during the fire to photograph it. It's amazing how something can be both devastating and beautiful at the same time. I'm just greatful that no homes or lives were lost!